Author: mark

I am a Director of newsXpress, a marketing group for newsagents keen for a bright future. You can reach me on +61 418 321 338 or mark[at]towersystems.com.au

Plush wall training helps newsXpress members grow sales

In the eight months since newsXpress launched its exclusive and in-house developed plush wall strategy, newsXpress members have reported excellent sales results of plush and other items purchased by shoppers attracted by the plush wall.

This week we have shared practical information with members to help them engaged even more successfully in the plush wall opportunity. Thanks to insights from suppliers we have been able to package information that will drive sales in any situation. More pliush insights will be shared in coming weeks.

newsXpress members loving HOT ink! Sales growth

The November HOT ink! Campaign is in full swing across newsXpress stores and the result is an excellent sales surge in member businesses. One newsXpress location has seen sales surge 112% already this month on the back of a strong base for the same period last year.

newsXpress members participating in our November HOT ink! Campaign are benefiting from a valuable traffic burst at a good time of the year as a nice lead in to Christmas.

newsXpress members for 60,000+ Christmas giveaway

sonypspnewsXpress is funding $60,000 worth of prizes for members to give away for in-store promotions this Christmas. Each participating newsXpress Hallmark store will have a new model Sony PSP to a lucky customer.

Supported with some excellent in-store marketing collateral, this competition pitches newsXpress stores as having a gift of value that is guaranteed to be won by one of the shoppers in the business.

This is a fun and relevant gift. It’s going to help drive appeal to a broader shopper demographic that newsXpress members will enjoy.

The PSP prize offer is up and running in newsXpress locations right now.

Facebook campaign attracts 250,000+ views

The most recent Facebook advertising campaign run by newsXpress has attracted 250,000 views according to Facebook stats. This paid advertising complimented the latest HOT ink! campaign that has been hitting hundreds of thousands of letter boxes around the country.

Following the lead of successful national retailers, newsXpress has this year supported its member businesses with a range of campaigns timed to coincide with consumer flyers and other out of store promotions.

Supporting newsXpress members in this way drives further value from campaigns such as HOT ink!

Terrific newsXpress member meeting in Brisbane

bnemtgOur Brisbane area members had an excellent members meeting this past week at the head office of preferred supplier Wild Republic.  We were treated to some delicious hospitality, some excellent product insights and valuable networking with each other.

More and more members are engaging in our cluster meetings and the feedback following each is excellent.

Wild Republic is a valued supplier to the newsXpress family, offering quality products that connect with educational opportunities. From toys to large plush items the Wild republic line is proving to be a wonderful point of difference for newsXpress members.

newsXpress helps source gifts appealing to older people

oldercustomersBuying gifts for older people can be a challenge since they often don’t need anything in particular. Thanks to a diverse mix of preferred suppliers, newsXpress is able to help its members with gift ideas and opportunities. From gifts for neighbours to family members we have gifts for folder folk for males and females. One popular line we have had in our supplier portfolio for some time is the cakes of soap. Make to look like a slice of delicious cake, the soap presents as very special. Once packaged in a purpose-made gift pack and presented with a wonderful Hallmark card, the gift package is complete. This is an ideal gift for an older person who says they don;t ant anything in particular. The newsXpress experience is that the purchase leads to excellent word of mouth … and more sales.

Tents a hit in newsXpress stores

tents!The Australian designed tents we launched in newsXpress stores earlier this year following the Melbourne gift fair have been a hit in the newsXpress locations where they have been taken on. Some stores have struggled to keep up with shopper demand as word of mouth spread about the excellent Christmas gift idea for families with kids.

Beautifully designed and well made the tents have been working very well in newsXpress locations – attracting shoppers to the businesses and delivering incremental sales.

Taking on these tents is another example of newsXpress leadership for the newsagency channel.

Instant rewards shopper loyalty program differentiates newsXpress locations

instantrewardsMore and more newsXpress members are embracing the Instant Rewards program first launched by the group earlier this year. Like all initiatives from newsXpress, engagement is not mandatory – newsXpress members are encouraged but not forced to take on the marketing opportunity. To help newsXpress members understand how this works and how to engage actively for maximum value, the group published a how-to guide.  This has just been updated and provided again to members along with practical tips and customer information sheets.

The sales response we are seeing shows the value of Instant rewards (discount vouchers) as an excellent way of demonstrating a point of difference over confusing and old-school points-based loyalty programs.

newsXpress is leveraging the point of difference in Instant rewards for its members through a range of member support activities.

Promoting Movember in newsXpress stores

movember2013newsXpress members are embracing the Movember opportunity with products sourced from newsXpress suppliers and with collateral created by newsXpress for promoting the Movember connecting. The terrific Movember product and the collateral tell a great story connecting with the season and all it stands for.

Besides the fun of the Mo, Movember at participating stores is about connecting with fundraising and community engagement.

newsXpress sourced products and collateral for members from a range of suppliers.

newsXpress promoting latest HOT ink! campaign on Facebook

We expect to reach more than 100,000 Facebook users with our latest ad campaign on Facebook. Started yesterday and running for this week, the latest ad campaign is supporting the new HOT ink! catalogues that is out how hitting hundreds of thousands of letter boxes.

The new ad campaign leverages other successful Facebook campaigns we have already run this year.

The HOT ink! offer from newsXpress offers brand name ink at competitive prices. Since our businesses are locally owned it keeps more dollars in the local community.

newsXpress members promoting plush and attracting new traffic

nxplushnewsXpress last week launched an exclusive plush product promotion with an exciting flyer and in-store poster promotional campaign. developed by our own marketing people and connecting with the worldwide successful Ty brand. This latest campaign is another way newsXpress members can leverage their group membership to drive traffic and sales by supporting a well-known brand.

This latest flyer campaign from newsXpress is being professionally delivered to at least 10,000 homes surrounding participating stores.

Pacific Magazines stand drives magazine sales

pacmagsstandAll newsXpress members regardless of size were provided access to this excellent floor display unit from Pacific Magazines for promoting Christmas issues of Better Homes and Gardens and brand extensions for BHG and New Idea with Christmas themes.

Placed in high traffic locations and regularly moved, the stand works very well at attracting shoppers to the business as well as extending basket depth from existing shoppers. It easily pays for the space with incremental business.

newsXpress members support the Christmas title promotion with emails and other promotions to shoppers.

newsXpress negotiates better supplier deals

newsXpress has announced to members this week yet another better deal from one of our preferred suppliers. This latest deal enhances the discount and trading terms available for newsXpress members. The new terms have come about as a result of our work in negotiating the best possible terms and offers for newsXpress members. The latest offer is an exclusive for newsXpress members. We’re not sharing details here since there is no point in telling our competitors what to do.

newsXpress newsagency marketing group promotes environmentally responsible greeting cards

nxinstorenovOur newsXpress INSTORE Newsletter for November promotes the environmental friendliness of Hallmark cards.

Acting as unexcelled educational piece, this newsletter gives our customers another reason to trust the newsXpress brand while helping them to understand additional value supporting the Hallmark brand.

newsXpress provides these INSTORE newsletters for local use by newsXpress members. The newsletters can be customised to be from each local business for their local customers.

newsXpress members love these newsletters.

Helping newsXpress members connect with Movember

NXPMovemberA3PosternewsXpress has provided its members with collateral for promoting support for Movember. This collateral and the excellent range of Movember products provide for newsXpress members and excellent point of difference for what is a growing seasonal opportunity and an excellent and socially responsible campaign.

newsXpress pitched Movember products to its retail community through preferred supplier relationships many weeks ago.

From major seasons to minor, newsXpress actively engages with and supports its newsagent member community – chasing more traffic and sales.

newsXpress members meet in Sydney / Melbourne

newsXpress members in Melbourne and Sydney had terrific cluster meeting this week talking about business, discussing supplier deals and doing some good-value buying. These cluster meetings have gone very well and we have more planned in the coming weeks.

With contact determined by member engagement newsXpress members are able actively working with each other and learning from each other … facilitated by newsXpress.

newsXpress members embrace halloween

halloweeneliCheck out the crazy looking people from newsXpress Eli Waters from Thursday this week.

Allan and Stella Wickham love a good dress-up as the photo shows. They bring some fun theatre to their shop for halloween, giving enjoyment to shoppers and driving sales.

The halloween dress-up is great to see – an excellent and fun point of difference for newsXpress Eli Waters!

newsXpress members are different. They engage, enjoy their businesses and provide for their customers a genuine point of difference.

Al and Stella make a scary couple.

newsXpress helping newsagents: Grow Your Own Way

nxgrowyourownNewsagency marketing group newsXpress is gaining traction with newsagents through its Grow Your Own Way call to action campaign.

Delivering access to a model of business flexibility backed by a broad range of valuable supplier options the Grow Your Own Way campaign is resonating with newsagents for its positivity, flexibility and recognition that newsagency businesses are local businesses with local needs.

newsXpress gives members flexibility to grow their businesses in areas appropriate to those businesses. Our job as a newsagency marketing group is to give members the tools and opportunities at the best possible terms.